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The Mazda Road to Indy includes the USF2000, Pro Mazda and Indy Lights racing series.

Mazda pulling support from Road to Indy racing ladder

Manufacturer to focus on sports cars, Mazda Road to 24, Team Joest

July 31, 2018

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Mazda is pulling out of its sponsorship of the Road to Indy ladder so that it can put more resources toward its growing sports car participation.

John Doonan, director Mazda Motorsports, announced the end of Mazda’s participation in the IndyCar driver development program after nine years in a press release on Tuesday afternoon.

According to the Indianapolis Star, Mazda has provided more than $12 million of advancement scholarships to more than 20 drivers in its nearly decade-long support of the program. Of the 35 entrants in this year's Indianapolis 500, 27 of them participated in Indy Lights.

“On behalf of Mazda, I’d like to thank Andersen Promotions and everyone involved with the Road to Indy for a wonderful nine years, but the time has come for Mazda to focus our resources into other areas of our motorsports footprint. We have truly enjoyed our role in developing young racers into Indy 500 hopefuls, and we look forward to continuing our relationship with Andersen Promotions through the Battery Tender Global MX-5 Cup. The 2018 USF2000, Pro Mazda and Indy Lights champions will receive Mazda Advancement Scholarships for the 2019 season and the annual $200,000 Mazda Road to Indy Global shootout will also be held in December of this season.

"Motorsports is at the core of Mazda’s DNA, and the company remains committed to its variety of motorsports programs in the coming years including our grassroots club racing initiatives, the Battery Tender Global MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich, the Mazda Road to 24 and Mazda Team Joest.”

Kyle Kirkwood certainly knows how to climb a ladder. The 19-year-old from Jupiter, Florida wrapped up the 2018 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda with a win on July 27 at Mid-Ohio ...

The Road to Indy series, which includes Indy Lights, Pro Mazda Series and the USF2000 series, has produced several drivers who have gone on to compete in the Verizon IndyCar Series, including past Indy Lights champions Josef Newgarden (2011), Spencer Pigot (2015) and Ed Jones (2016).

“The Road to Indy program has staged great racing over the years while developing teams and drivers for the Verizon IndyCar Series, and that will continue with plans soon to be announced,” said IndyCar in a prepared statement. “Mazda has been a transformative partner, and IndyCar is appreciative of its many contributions.”

A total of $12 million in scholarships have been awarded to winners of the Road to Indy series. Those scholarships, which will be honored for the 2019 season, help drivers move up the ladder.

A year ago at this time, the sports car racing world was buzzing with the recently announced news that Mazda would be teaming up with Joest Racing for the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship ...

Dan Andersen, owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions, said, “We would like to thank Mazda for nine tremendous years in supporting and headlining the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires. They have been a great partner, and their scholarships have helped so many drivers achieve their dream of progressing to the Verizon IndyCar Series. Mazda has been a key player in establishing and helping to grow our driver development system into the unparalleled program it is today.

“They remain with us through the end of this season and will once again be awarding each of our series’ champions a scholarship to move up to the next step in 2019, as well as the winner of the USF2000 $200K Scholarship Shootout in December. As their marketing objectives pursue new horizons, we at Andersen Promotions are committed to maintaining the outstanding ladder structure we have in place for 2019 and beyond. We are currently in discussions with several potential companies as we actively pursue a new partner.”

Mike Pryson
- Mike Pryson covered auto racing for the Jackson (Mich.) Citizen Patriot and M-Live Media Group from 1991 until joining Autoweek as online motorsports editor In 2012. Promoted to motorsports editor in 2015.
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